McCain backs citizenship hearings

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) on Tuesday added their voices to GOP calls for congressional hearings into altering the Constitution's 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants.

But when Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was asked if he was open to holding hearings on the topic, he told POLITICO: “No. Not before the election.”

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Sessions, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said a re-examination of the 14th Amendment “deserves serious discussion” and that he supports hearings.

“People do not believe you should be able to break into America, have a baby and then the baby becomes a citizen, and the whole family says, ‘We can’t go home. My child is a citizen,’” Sessions told reporters on Capitol Hill. “It’s an unfair way to gain priority in the application for legal immigration into America.”

He also objected to foreigners who are obtaining U.S. visas, giving birth here, then returning to their home countries.

“I’m not sure exactly what the drafters of the [14th] Amendment had in mind,” Sessions said, “but I doubt it was that somebody could fly in from Brazil and have a child and fly back home with that child, and that child is forever an American citizen.”

“It very much is worthy of discussion,” Sessions added. “I think hearings is a good way to do it. I’d like to see somebody draft an amendment, and let’s see what it says.”

McCain said Tuesday the he supports “the concept of holding hearings.”

In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, McCain expanded on his terse comments from earlier in the day, saying that the Constitution is a “strong, complete and carefully crafted document that has successfully governed our nation for centuries and any proposal to amend the Constitution should receive extensive and thoughtful consideration.”

“Congressional hearings are always warranted when members of Congress raise the issue of amending our Constitution,” he added.

McCain and Sessions join Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) in calling for Congress to examine the issue. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) announced last week that he may propose an amendment to change the Constitution on the matter.